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Friday, February 5, 2016

Project Sew It - January 2016

So let's be honest. Until now, most of my sewing has been selfish sewing. And I don't mean "selfish sewing" in the sense that I have been sewing for myself (anyway, I think of that as "self-care sewing"). I mean "selfish" in the way that I make almost all of the sewing decisions regarding the clothing that I make for my children. It's a pleasure that is truly a selfish one. I get to decide on the fabric, I get to choose the pattern, and I select the notions. Of course it is not entirely a dictatorship; I do ask them for their opinions sometimes, ha ha.

Oh that fabric above? Future projects. My daughter may not choose any of them for Project Sew It, but I can always hope. Or I can just use them for me, mwa ha ha ha ha!!

Anyway. Celina's project got me thinking. That, and the fact that my older daughter has started to become a bit more opinionated about what she wears (other than to complain that a certain fabric is "too scratchy" or that she "doesn't like skulls"). So I felt this was the perfect opportunity to start letting her make some choices about what she gets to wear, within reason. Or, at least for one item per month, ha ha ha!! Hey, I'm not THAT selfless. So let's call it more of a collaborative effort rather than letting my usual Pygmalion tendencies take over.

I realize this is nothing exciting, as probably most sew-ers (sewists?) let their children participate in the decision-making process. So for the month of January, I chose the pattern and she chose the color scheme/fabric. We went with the Jolie Skirt by Filles a Maman (you can see Mel's version here), which is to be released in Issue 10 of One Thimble magazine, and a Japanese pattern from this book for the top (pattern "g").

For the skirt, she wanted "something blue", so she chose some denim that I bought from a wholesale shop in Fabric Town in Nippori. It's pretty stiff and a bit stretchy. I liked it so much that I bought it in brown and hot pink as well. (I used the hot pink for the Madeit Patterns Pocket Fold Skirt here). I departed from the original pattern a bit for this version in what I did with the waistband and I added a button rather than a tie. (I know what you're thinking: "What? You had an opportunity to add a ribbon and you didn't??" I know. Crazy times.)

The fabric for the blouse was an easy choice for her. She loves the Michael Miller Wee Wander line (available here). It was a no-brainer. The problem was when it came to the sleeves. She wanted one line of the silver ribbon on the top sleeve. I thought it would look better with two, as is suggested in the pattern. So I consulted the wise women in the Japanese Sewing Patterns Facebook group, and they backed me up. I know, I know. I wasn't really doing what I said I would. But come on, it does look better, right?

And actually, when I brought it up with her again, she didn't seem to mind either way, phew. I think I made the elastic around the neckline too tight, so I'll have to fix that. But other than that, I am pretty happy with the blouse, and so is she. She generally doesn't like tops that are tight around the waist, but this time she was more than happy to wear it. I think it helped that the outfit coordinated with her balloon. I'll take that.

So there you have it. My January make posted in February, ha ha.

Please feel free to join the Project Sew It FB group here! Everyone's makes have been amazing so far, and it's a great opportunity to connect with other sewists!

That is such a great project! I am such a dictator when it comes to sewing for my kids. hahaha! Your daughter has great tatse, what a lovely outfit. And this totally counts for January. Also don't forget to link it #sewjapan with Mie's link party :D

Thank you, Marie. And I know!!!! That fabric is amazing, isn't it? I first saw it on Olga's Antalya dress here: http://www.coffeeandthread.com/2015/04/my-second-pattern-antalya-dress-is.html It's so pretty that I bugged her until she told me that it's Art Gallery Emmy Grace Budquette. You should get some; it's still available!!